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Spyker Files $3 Billion Lawsuit Against GM Over Saab Bankruptcy Case

Dutch automaker Spyker N.V has filed a lawsuit against General Motors for over $3 billion (€2.4 billion) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Spyker is accusing GM for tampering with the Saab bankruptcy case.

This rather unprecedented news coming after Spyker says GM was "tortiously interfering with a transaction" that would have allowed Chinese investors Youngman Lotus Automobile Group to take hold of the Saab brand.

The Swedish automaker, which has been in bankruptcy since December of last year, was in the process of reallocating funds to avoid a total market downfall.

With the help of parent company Spyker N.V, which acquired Saab from GM in 2010, they hoped to reach closure agreements with numerous interested parties. Unfortunately, due to an undesired economic block by GM, the deal was unable to be completed.

Here is how Spyker explains the economic interference intended by GM in regards to the Chinese market in the lawsuit:

"Despite initial appearances, GM never intended to allow Saab to compete with it in China. When Saab found a way to secure liquidity and continue as a going concern with the help of Chinese investors, GM was determined to scuttle the deal by an mean necessary, including the publication of false information about its rights under the parties' contracts."

This implied "scuttle" by GM concerns the Framework Agreement initially completed between Spyker and the Youngman Group. In this agreement, GM's concern was over the transfer of IP (intellectual properties) of the 9-4X SUV and 9-5 Sedan models to the new owners, which contained large components of GM engineering to the chassis.

Outlined in the structure though was a protective firewall that allowed the sole use of Saab's Phoenix platform by investors, which contained no GM IP.

CEO Victor Muller says that since the forced bankruptcy of Saab by GM in late December, they have been hard at work preparing the lawsuit. New sources from Just-Autoclaim that the Youngman Group is also "thinking about suing GM."

You can check out the lawsuit for yourself by following this (PDF) link.